OSA Announces New Meeting Focusing on Optics and the Brain

WASHINGTON, Aug. 5, 2014—The Optical Society (OSA) today announced the formation of a new topical meeting, OSA Optics and the Brain. The meeting will bring together physicists, engineers, neuroscientists and clinicians whose research combines optics and photonics with exploration of the brain. The event will serve as a forum for discussing existing and emerging techniques and future directions for shedding new light on the healthy and diseased brain. Optics and the Brain will take place in conjunction with the OSA Optics in the Life Sciences Congress in Vancouver, Canada, April 12-16, 2015.

OSA has been an active supporter of U.S. President Barack Obama’s Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies (BRAIN) Initiative since its implementation in 2013. The BRAIN Initiative is designed to help researchers and scientists find new ways to treat, cure and possibly even prevent brain disorders and diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease, epilepsy and autism. Optics and photonics play a key role in this initiative through tools and techniques such as in-vivo microscopy and optogenetics that have become central to neuroscience and biomedical research.

“OSA has recognized how important it is to draw these communities together, which is a critical step for a multidisciplinary initiative such as this,” said 2015 Optics and the Brain General Co-Chair Elizabeth Hillman of Columbia University. “The research community has already made great progress in discovering new ways to probe the brain, but it is critical that new forums are established where developers and users of technologies can bring their work together, form new collaborations and leverage each other’s strengths. We hope that this meeting will provide a new home for this burgeoning area of research, ensuring that progress can be made even faster.”

Optics and the Brain will feature sessions on:

Functional brain microscopy techniques

Optogenetics and optical modulation tools and techniques

Novel contrast and genetic approaches for brain imaging and modulation

About OSA
Founded in 1916, The Optical Society (OSA) is the leading professional society for scientists, engineers, students and business leaders who fuel discoveries, shape real-world applications and accelerate achievements in the science of light. Through world-renowned publications, meetings and membership programs, OSA provides quality research, inspired interactions and dedicated resources for its extensive global network of professionals in optics and photonics. For more information, visit www.osa.org.